president obama and hillary clinton issued strong warning to syria's president bashar al assad. >> it's the point of no return. they're going to lose any sort of backing they had in terms of the chinese and russians. it's a suicide mission. >> reporter: the killing force of sarin nerve gas is devastating. 5,000 kerds were killed in 1988. >>> well, back here at home, fiscal cliff negotiations in washington are still up in the air. most lawmakers have gone home for a long weekend. this, as treasury secretary timothy geithner says the obama administration is willing to go over the fiscal cliff. nbc's tracie potts joins us live from washington with app update on all of this. tracie, good morning to you. >> reporter: lynn, not quite empty. a lot of lawmakers on a long weekend break. take a look at some of the frustrated constituents they'll face. a protest in baltimore over social security, not the check but the jobs. the people who work in the offices who fear there could be super long lines for taxpayers if, in fact, their jobs are cut in all of this. so where do we stand today? there's a